Road between Spello and Collepino

After lunch I set off on what started as a Club Alpino Italiano (CAI)-signposted trail to San Silvestro…or a monastery…or something. The trail turned up a steep and stony forest track.  Among the trees it was cool, but I was not, because the trail seemed to go straight up.  (Will the Camino be like this?  Hmmm.)  The fresh air was silent except for the thumping of my heart.  I managed the 100-meter elevation gain in about fifteen minutes.  On the gravel road at the top, a trickle of water flowed into a big stagnant trough labeled “San Silvestro.”  Indeed.  I walked to an intersection and a sign suggested there was an eremo…somewhere.  Eventually I spotted a CAI sign and continued that direction.  The path widened and the forest started looking more like a lawn with a lot of trees.  Neat placards informed me this was a place of prayer and asked me to respect the silenzio.  All was as silent as the forest I had just left, except for the twittery birds and the cuckoo, who were definitely not obeying instructions.  At a sharp turn in the path a gray-habited sister stood in front of the stone convent. We looked at each other and nodded; I dared not break the silence. Keep reading